Mr. Speaker, in your ruling last week against the CIDA minister, you stated:

The full body of material gives rise to very troubling questions. Any reasonable person confronted with what appears to have transpired would necessarily be extremely concerned, if not shocked, and might well begin to doubt the integrity of certain decision-making processes. In particular, the senior CIDA officials concerned must be deeply disturbed by the doctored document they have been made to appear to have signed.

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, the department does make recommendations to the ministers. Ministers are responsible for making those decisions.

In this case the department made a recommendation and I did not agree with it. We want to ensure that our development and aid dollars go forward to make a difference in the lives of those living in developing countries, living in poverty, who are seeing high rates of disease, et cetera.

Mr. Speaker, chickens are pumped full of antibiotics to keep them from getting sick. Consequently, every time we eat chicken, we are devouring antibiotics, even though we do not need them because we are not sick.

The problem is that bacteria are able to adapt. The superbugs found in chicken are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics.

What is the government's plan to protect people and deal with this problem?

Gerry RitzMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board

Mr. Speaker, I can assure the House and all Canadians that our chicken is safe. CFIA regularly tests meat and poultry entering the food supply for antibiotics. The compliance rate for chicken is 100%. The last time I checked, that is pretty good.

Mr. Speaker, the Public Health Agency of Canada's own testing has found antibiotic resistant bacteria in foods. This poses serious health risks to Canadian children and their families. Because of these health risks, the EU banned unnecessary antibiotics over five years ago. Is the health of Canadians any less important?

Shocking reports on bacteria in food like chicken show that Canada has dragged its heels on food safety issues.

Where is the government's plan to keep deadly and resistant bacteria off our families' dinner plates? When will the government ban the use of antibiotics for animals that are not sick?

Gerry RitzMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board

Mr. Speaker, no one stands still in this world. We constantly upgrade our antibiotics and the resistance to them, as the member well knows, with science and research. That comes about in budgets that we bring before the House and the NDP always votes against them.

If those members want to be a part of the solution instead of part of the problem, they might want to read a budget and support the science and technology side of it before they dismiss it out of hand.

Mr. Speaker, earlier today I announced new measures taken by our government to protect Canadian children and their families by strengthening food labelling to require clearer language in the declaration of hidden allergens. Enhanced labelling will provide Canadians with allergies with more information to make food choices.

Our Conservative government wants parents to have confidence in the food they are serving their families. These changes to food labels will make it easier for parents of children with food allergies to identify potentially harmful ingredients in food.

Mr. Speaker, as we all know, the government before ours refused to deal with the issue of agent orange for a number of years. This government decided to take action. We are providing an ex gratia payment of $20,000 to these individuals. Just before Christmas, I confirmed that the widows could also receive this payment. And we have extended the deadline by another year. On the contrary, I think that we are concerned about these people.

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's Office is insisting that one of the five Canadian Forces airbuses be painted white and red; however, the Department of National Defence opposes this request because the use of such bright colours could be dangerous when these aircraft are used for transporting soldiers and materiel during high-risk missions.

Does the Prime Minister not find it contradictory that he is arguing with his Minister of National Defence about an unnecessary expense, the paint colour of an aircraft, when he is asking everyone to tighten their belts and use restraint?